Keshia Knight Pulliam captured the hearts of millions and even earned a history-making Emmy nomination all by the age of 6. The 45-year-old managed to avoid the pitfalls that can come with being a child star and continued to find success beyond playing precocious Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby Show.
These days the star is busy playing Miranda Lucas-Payne for 11 seasons and counting on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne. She has also ventured behind the camera as an director and producer for a number of projects. Not to mention hosting, and maybe even playing unofficial therapist, for Married at First Sight: Afterparty.
She is also starring in new Lifetime movie Wife Stalker, which premieres Saturday, March 29. The actress portrays a mom and wife whose husband left her for another woman with a nefarious past. We caught up with Pulliam, who started out through baby commercials and Sesame Street, to reflect on four decades in the industry.
One thing that popped up on my timeline a day or two ago was it was 40 years since The Last Dragon premiered. What comes to mind when you hear that?
Keshia Knight Pulliam: Oh my gosh. It’s amazing that I’m able to do something I love for so many decades. Television and film, it’s such an art and genre that is timeless. Here we are 40 years later, for some people, that’s still their favorite movie. For many, when they see The Last Dragon, it transports them back into that time and space when they first watched it. To have that amazing and intimate connection with a world of people is really special. I’m grateful I have the opportunity to do it then and now at such a high level.
THE COSBY SHOW — Pictured: Keshia Knight Pulliam as Rudy Huxtable (Photo by NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
Next year will mark 40 years since you made history as the youngest to be nominated for an Emmy. How do you look back on that with today’s lens?
It’s crazy because I’m still the youngest ever nominated all these years later. I think it’s amazing. I’m grateful to be recognized for the work I do. I still just keep going and doing all the things that brings my heart joy.
What is your opinion on the state of the child star and today’s landscape?
I think at the end of the day you always learn from those who have gone before you. There are a lot of lessons that were learned and applied forward. I think that’s always a good thing in any situation. I think there is always room for growth and learning. I’m very fortunate that I’ve had an amazing upbringing in the business and industry. When I was a child, I had success when it came to that. I’m grateful for that. I hope the children coming up today will have that. More than anything, I hope they realize this is amazing what they are doing. They are talented, but ultimately at the end of the day, it’s not the totality of their identity. I think that’s where a lot of times it’s important to know you can enjoy this but also enjoy whatever else it is you’re interested in.
Demetria Mckinney and Keshia Knight Pulliam (Photo: Charles Bergmann/BET/Tyler Vision, LLC)
You were so defined early on in your career as Rudy Huxtable. Fast forward to many years later and you join Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, which has already exceeded The Cosby Show in seasons and episodes. What does that mean to you?
I’m blessed. I’m grateful to continue the trajectory. It has been a joy to play Miranda on House of Payne. That cast has become family to me. We just keep going. It’s a lot of fun. I also direct the show, which is amazing. I enjoy it. I think it’s great to be on both sides of the camera for that project. We have great fans. At the end of the day, we have great fans who are invested in watching us. They tune in, and as we know with any show, that is the base. Our fans on The House of Payne are amazing and doing that for more than a decade.
When it comes to the Married At First Sight Afterparty, that has developed a fandom of its own.
My husband always jokes with me because I was a fan of the show before I started hosting the Afterparty. Married At First Sight, I would watch at home and yell at the TV just like everyone else. When the opportunity presents itself, he is like, “You’re getting paid to do what you would do at the house for free.” Dissecting these couples and adding your own insight. I enjoy that. I really enjoy the show because I feel my desire is to always give the people on the show a platform to give greater perspective on what we’ve seen on the main show. I get it. They have filmed hours and hours and taken what they’ve lived in their real lives in real-time and edited it down to this hour or hour-and-a-half show.
A lot of times we may not have the context or there may be something behind the scenes we weren’t privy to watching the show. I really enjoy being able to give all the participants the platform to tell their truth. With that, I am going to hold your feet to the fire in terms of being truthful and honest and authentic. Also, I think it’s a really great platform with hindsight being 20-20. A lot of times we have people who may say, “This moment wasn’t my finest moment, but this is what I learned from that experience.” I think that is super valuable because in life, whether it’s good or bad, I don’t believe in bad because that’s an opportunity to learn and grow. I’m really excited to have the opportunity to unpack this experience to propel them to learn and grow from this relationship or every relationship they have moving forward.
You’ve been in the game for so long. What else do you want to accomplish?
I don’t really have a bucket list. My charge is to be better than I was the day before. My competition is with nobody else and just being the best version of myself and telling great stories. Doing that from both sides of the camera.
